Thursday, December 5, 2013

AMD launches A10-6790K: A new APU for socket FM2

While we are all waiting for Kaveri - the core-architecture
that will drive AMD’s next-gen APUs, it seems that the firm isn’t quite done
with its current line-up. So here comes A10-6790K – the newest member in AMD’s Richland family of APUs.
Designated for socket FM2, this new model comes with a base clock frequency of
4.0GHz that can reach up to 4.3GHz in turbo mode.
This is a quad-core part
with fully unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking (hence the “K” suffix).
It’s apparent from the naming convention that AMD has positioned this APU just
behind its flagship A10-6800K which offers a slightly higher base and Turbocore
speed at 4.1GHZ and 4.4GHz respectively. Memory speed rates also differ between
these two APUs as the new A10-6790K has support for DDR3 1866MHz modules
instead of DDR3 2133MHz found in the 6800K.

On the GPU front, however, everything seems to be fair and equal
with this new APU having the same integrated Radeon HD 8670D graphics which we
already know to be a very capable solution as far as IGP performance goes. TDP
rating hasn’t changed either and at 100W, it’s identical to other unlocked (K)
parts. We don’t have any wording on the price yet but it’s safe to assume
that these chips will sell at $120-$130 range. Here
is how AMD’s A10 family of Richland APUs currently stands:*

APU Model

No. of Cores

CPU Clock Speed (Base/Turbo)

Total amount of
L2 Cache

Integrated Graphics

No. of Integrated GPU Cores

GPU Clock Speed

Max. Memory support

TDP

A10-6800K

4/4

4.1GHz/4.4GHz

4MB

Radeon HD 8670D

384

844 MHz

2133 MHz

100W

A10-6790K

4/4

4.0GHz/4.3GHz

4MB

Radeon HD 8670D

384

844 MHz

1866 MHz

100W

A10-6700

4/4

3.7GHz/4.3GHz

4MB

Radeon HD 8670D

384

844 MHz

1866 MHz

65W

A10-6700T

4/4

2.5GHz/3.5GHz

4MB

Radeon HD 8670D

384

720 MHz

1866 MHz

45W

*Numbers and figures are taken from AMD website

So as you can see, AMD is trying to close the CPU
performance gap between A10-6800K and A10-6700 with this newcomer. With almost
identical specs, the A10-6790K shouldn’t have any problem performing at the
A10-6800K’s level. The slight deficit in clock speed won’t matter much because
thanks to the unlocked multiplier, you can crank-up the clocks anytime you want
to match its faster sibling! As far as DDR3 memory support is concerned, we’ve
seen these APUs to operate at much higher frequencies than their official
ratings. So I wouldn’t worry about it either. All in all, if you’re doing an
APU build and looking for a cheaper alternative to the flagship A10-6800K, then
this new chip might just fit the bill.

Having said that, I believe some enthusiasts could be
a little disappointed not seeing a faster iteration of Richland! Given the maturity of the 32nm
process, it’s not unreasonable at all to expect faster updates of the high-end
parts. But at the same time I’d also like to remind that the FM2 socket is
already in its 2nd generation and now with Kaveri on the horizon,
there isn’t much left in this platform. Right now, I will highly recommend an
A10-6790K on a socket FM2+ motherboard for a future proof yet budget-friendly
system with superior 3D graphics capability.

Kitguru has already published a review for this new chip. Unfortunately they have pitted it against a costlier and more powerful Intel Core i5-4430 rather than a similarly priced i3. You can read it here.